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Welcome to the eighth part of our ongoing discussion of Japanese Animation and related topics!
While the main focus of our attention is usually anime currently available on DVD in the U.S., we are also more than happy to talk about out-of-print and overseas DVDs, current and former television and theatrical showings in the U.S. and elsewhere, manga [Japanese comics], music and game tie-ins, other video formats, fan activities, and just about anything else which comes our way.
If you feel intimidated or just don't know where to begin, I recommend our companion Novice Anime Discussion. Otherwise, jump right in, the water's fine!

Woo: You know I haven't really had much of a problem with bricks yet despite the fact I have quite a few... erm lesse. I have like 10-11 I think. And have only had a single loose disc out of the bunch. Not bad =) Some of the cheaper ones are a pain in the butt to close up sometimes though but its worth the trade off. I do prefer the thinpak sets such as the last two seasons of Sailor Moon and Full Metal Panic. These are quite sexy. If DVDs can be considered sexy. Maybe that's just weird. Whatever. =)

I prefer the cheaper prices of the bricks but the thinpaks are so nice.

Hmmmm lesse... still watching Ceres, Celestial Legend and really love it so far. It doesnt seem to be that popular though which confuses me. I like these deep character type dramas. Want more!

I've got so much stuff half watched and others are on the backburner that its ridiculous. And I think Figure 7 or whatever its called came in today too..got a box at the door but didnt have time to pry into it.

Oh and has anyone seen Seraphim Call? I have read its similiar to Sentimental Journey which I detested and didn't even finish, but other comments seem to be positive for it. I was just wondering if it was any good or not... 300m of anime for under $20 is a good deal if its decent but is a waste if its anything like the extremely boring and confusingly subbed Sentimental Journey.

Thanks for your input, Alanna. It's just that there is so much stuff being released these days that even if you do select what you want, it's hard to keep up. Besides, if I get bricks, it also won't allow me to thinpak and thus save space. (This is especially true if the boxes only hold three or four discs. 1 single thinpak case is roughly 1/2 the thickness of a regular dvd case, and a brick *usually* takes up more space than a two regular dvd case.)

Another silly consideration as my two large Large bookcases are already packed with anime. Even if I were to thinpak all I could and stack dvds into the spaces available I'd only be able to save about 2 - maybe 3 shelves worth of space TOPS. (I need a bigger room - actually I need a house ;_; )

Woo: Bricks are awesome when you have lots of space... nice big showpieces with sometimes cool art. Atleast the Nadia bricks look nice.. they are the only ones I can see from here and can't remember the others lol but yeah once you start running out of room they are a bit of a pain in the arse. Not really sure what to do with mine since the space I had alloted to anime (one rack plus a shelf of another one) is completely and totally jam packed. I'm now stacking stuff on top of the shelves and inbetween cos there's simply no room and it looks ugly. Ew. When once long ago it was nice and streamlined and cool looking, its now a bloody mess. But its still worth it to save money with those bricks. Hooray! =)

My wishes for cheapie thinpaks or bricks would be Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, and Lain. I know that Lain is signature series but com'on it should be cheaper than that. And where's the excuse on the other two? Surely they have made their dough already...I just want em to be released for cheaparses like myself... well not really a cheapie, just have limited resources.

Except I bought the Soul Hunter brick and will probably never watch it. It just sits there. Its like the black sheep of my collection. No one even wants to borrow it. Heck if someone just wanted to use it I'd feel better about spending the money on it but instead it just sits there with its ugly character art on the spine and being all bulky and yuck. Have no idea what the brain was thinking when it said "YEAH ORDER THAT!"

Yeah the brain was out to lunch.

And I did get Figure 17 today... I dont think anyone here has ever mentioned it but has anyone seen it? I don't even remember where I ran across this to want it.. just one of those things I guess and its not repulsive looking like Soul Hunter.

Finished off Gunparade March. It's kinda cute, but not really what I was expecting. I was expecting a mecha show, and got primarily a relationship show. Nothing new or outstanding here.
B- from me.
Jason

Samurai Champloo sounds really interesting. I imagine it is quite different from Otogi Zoshi though - I saw the first 5 episodes of that series and it starts off rather slow. But, it could be interesting. Has anyone seen more? How is it?

Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him...a super-callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

Tony: Woohoo! I've got 45,000 respect points! Is that a new record or something? "Stabbing the Drama" has been in my constant rotation for like a week now. Its awesome. =)
Escaflowne the Movie is pretty good but I think it stacks up even better if you have seen the tv series first. I tried watching the movie by itself and it kind of bored me to tears but after seeing the events unfold in the series, it was much more interesting.

*belches* I don't feel intimidated at all Chris, with nearly 200 anime titles I feel right at home here [pulls up a chair]. Hey I think this is the first time I've posted in a ChrisDAC thread, kind of cosy here.

What was the last anime I bought.. [thinking] oh yeah Katsuhiro Otomo's Memories a few days ago, good film, well worth checking out, three stories the first being the best followed by the 2nd.

Looking forward to Appleseed the Movie R1 in May and Steamboy R2 in June.

Tony: Never heard of Fantômas but will look into it. I bet its something weird though... will update later once I figure out what the heck it is.

Just finished the first 12 eps of

Ceres, Celestial Legend and I have to say it rocks hard so far and I am liking it better than Fushigi Yugi. I actually like all the characters in this one and all the confusing bits as well. =) It has taken me awhile to get through it though for some reason. Just not enough hours in the day I guess!

I found this in an amazon.com customer review of Suspended Animation. "after you are done listening, you will feel like you were just beat up in a day care..." I can't believe how accurate that statement is. I never would have thought to describe it like that.

Alanna,
Not sure your missing anything by missing Trigun. I've watched the first 4 episodes and I'm still not getting it. I wouldnt go as far as to throw it on Tony's 'sucks' pile, but its nothing special. Maybe things will heat up.
Unrelated - you'd think by now there would be an anime forum here? The stuff is only gaining popularity...

Tony: Fantômas makes my ears want to explode. That is some of the weirdest crap I've ever heard. I can't really speak much on it because it gave me a headache in about 30 seconds flat from a clip on the new album. Seems like a great cd to annoy the neighbors with though.

Todd: I tend to like things that others didn't so who knows? Geneon needs to do more box sets though. That's my whole point. They are killing us with their expensive stuff. I figured that even with the Signature Series and buying from Deep Discount DVD it would still cost about $120 to get all of Trigun. That's kinda ridiculous considering that its an older title and all.

And you know, I like it that the anime thing is in one big thread. I can just come by and read it without having to check a million other little posts and I think the flow works better than it would if there was an actual anime forum. Maybe I'm wrong...? But that's just an opinion.

Geneon....
I had a Geneon buying spree this weekend - totally lucked out. Newbury Comics had Texhnolyze 1, 2 & 3 for $11.99 - $14.99. They were used, but in immaculate condition. Not a scratch.
They also had Gungrave for $16.99 - but I've seen it on sale around that so I passed.
Now, got to say - I *love* Texhnolyze. Its dark, murky, harsh, even somewhat unlikable. Its like "Blade Runner" meets "Last Man Standing" directed by David Lynch. If I was 18 again I'd be getting baked before watching it. I can see how people would be turned off by this show but it does it for me. It also reminds me of Richard Morgan's seedy "Altered Carbon".

Todd - Trigun is a odd series in that it starts with filler that serves to introduce the world and characters. Some follows the manga, some does not but about the midway through the series, the story gets deadly serious and gripping until its conclusion. A "B" series....
(Oh don't watch this while watching Rurouni Kenshin, as the leads have similar philosophies - as interesting as their philosophies are, it sort of gets old if rehashed by the mains of both series and you are watching it happen. NOt to mention that I was watching trigun's comedy filled filler while watchign Season 2 of Kenshin which blew that show out of the water...)
Went to club this sunday (this club meets for 6hrs once a month) and saw a crapload of stuff.
* More of the 'Solar Hands' of Azuma Kazuma and his breadmaking exploits in Yakitate! Japan 3-4, (Kurowa-san (heh - Croissant) and the introduction of the manager of the store who has a afro. (afros make it all good)
* Some truly weird and messed up stuff in Gantz 1-2,
* Fruits Basket 10-11 (or was it 11/12) where Valentine's day and a day at the Sohma family Onsen results in a lot of humourous situations for Tohru and gang,
* Samurai Seven 9-10 were we see some serious robot/mecha ass being kicked (and thus proving swords >>>>>> guns in anime),
* weird blend of sword action and politics in Otogi Zoshi (sp?),
* more butt kicking in Bleach from Ichigo and Rukia as they fight the Grand Fisher well as the introduction of Don Kanonji (crosses arms over chest, and MUAHAHAs maniacally)
Didn't get a chance to watch much of kiddygrade so hope to f inish it this week. Brooklyn Botanical Garden has the Sakura Matsuri this weekend, so I'll see if I can attend that...